entertaining the chillins.

to pass a little of time with the children...

we played in the rain one morning
(rain in AZ=special occasion)

we went bowling after dinner.

went to the santan splash pad with megan, tristan, and evolett.
they're time was spent lying on the water spouts, squatting over the water spouts, or keeping their feet over the water spouts.

whenever my SIL, whitney, came over the girls always begged her to color with them.
phoebe always wanted to help you make food, real cute.
she'd see you doing something in the kitchen and say "can i help you?"

and the cookie monster fest continues...

annalee had her first dance class while i was there.
we took some pictures and phoebe, of course, wanted to be in the pictures too.
so we took some of just phoebe, some together, and some of just annalee.
she then followed with an emotional break down when annalee left for dance class and she couldn't...
so we watched dance class videos on youtube for 20 minutes :)

and the family all came over for dinner.
there's  a good handful of people missing, but it was still so fun.

 

other fun activities:
making hopscotch numbers and taping them to the ground in the kitchen to play.
painting in ziploc bags.
painting nails.
going to the park.
running through the sprinklers.
ice skating in the kitchen (aka cleaning the floor).

don't believe i'm always fun.
with being pregnant, waking up much earlier than usual, and constantly on the go with these girls,
i most definitely needed my down time.
one time phoebe and i played house, i was the baby laying on the couch, she the mommy.
she kept telling me to cry, so while i layed on the couch, with my eyes closed, i fake baby cried and then would ask for something "feed me, i want a blanket, put me to sleep, i need a pacifier, etc) it was a great 20 minute break :)

i was amazed how many times a cup spilt full of liquid, ha.
they always felt bad for doing it.
on the last day i was there and another cup was spilt (which nearly killed my iphone) i was about to get frustrated and then thought "oh man, this is truly funny how often it happens"

BYU

watching the BYU game tonight, i saw this video on a friend's facebook wall.

i really miss BYU.

WE REALLY miss BYU.

those 4 years were some of the greatest for us.

i'm jealous of friend's pictures/stories while they're at the Y right now.

we loved our time their together.

when i start thinking about it too much, i literally start to cry because of all my good memoreis.

moral of the story: if you're still going to the Y or in the area/atmosphere of the school, soak it in.

back to the corn

i am back.

pretending to be a mommy has ended and i am back in nebrasaka with my wonderful husband.

the past 2 weeks were really a great experience.

those girls were a lot of fun (and a lot of work:)

when i said good bye to them before i left for the airport tears sprang to my eyes.

i felt like i was just leaving these innocent little girls to fend for themselves.

sending them off to face the lions.

their mom wasn't back yet, i shouldn't be leaving them!

as i hugged them i looked into their eyes i saw them looking for trust in my eyes.

it was heartwrenching, i didn't want to leave them.

they told me they loved me and i them.

and then i watched them walk away prepared with a backpack of snacks and pullups.

it was terrible.

i'm happy i was there to help for so long and happier that hopefully they'll get their mommy back soon and back to a more normal life.

coming back to casey in nebrasaka was beyond wonderful though.

i missed him so much.

running into his arms and squeezing each other was just the best.

it was that type of reunion when you're smiling so much it's impossible to kiss.

i'm glad i get to have him be other half in parenting.

i am so happy to be back with him.

i edited some photos while on the plane and will post more of my time in arizona!

ps- it HAS turned into fall here! i walked out of the airport and immediately thought "it's so cold!" fall season means the last few months to prep before baby boy arrives!!!!!!

overheard

funny things i've heard while watching the little girls

i overheard phoebe say "i can't, i have a baby in my tummy"

annalee on the couch, opening pages of the book of mormon: "heleman went to get the gold plates from laman and lemuel..."

mommyhood by fire

so my sweet little niece, ruthie, is still in pennsylvania recovering from surgery on her pancreas.

i have come to arizona for a 2 week stay to watch over the 2 older girls.

it really has been fun.

they are 2 super easy going girls.

very obedient and polite pretty much 24/7 (except if annalee is hungry...)

things i've learned thus far this week:

1. white shirts are the dumbest idea ever. they will undoubtedly get stained.

2. even really tidy kids make big messes.

i clean the kitchen floor and counters like a majillion times a day.

3. if you actually think of something remotely fun/new to do they think you're the best person in the world.

4. they can eat like a million cookies but only like 3 carrots before they're full, weird...

5. the really will copy what you do.

here they were sitting on the couch with book of mormons open making me repeat what they were saying.

6. kids yoga is so funny to watch them do.

we are most definitely doing more of that!!!

this is the tree pose.

7. these little sinks at IKEA are the best things ever.

why doesn't every place have them?

8. while we're on the subject of bathrooms, being fully potty trained is worth the child's weight in GOLD. annalee is spectacular at it. phoebe is pretty darn good at it when she's at home and bare bummed, if not, there's no telling what it will be like. never really understood how parents remembered their children's potty schedules but now i KNOW to stay close to home during the afternoon hour if you know what i mean...

9. being a parent is truly exhausting. i now understand why other parents love when casey and i come over and play with their children for long periods of time. what a nice break!

10. mini vans are pretty darn convenient.

i'm cruisin in the honda odyssey and those automatic sliding doors open/shut buttons are the best things ever.

11. bananas are apparently the yummiest food ever.
i bought eleven  bananas yesterday before dinner,
tonight after dinner we have 2 and 1/4 left.
12. it's really funny the things kids will start repeating after you.
thus far they've really clung onto "crazy lady" and "not cool"
to my luck they ignore my crap/py, dang, and stupid.
i know, bad example on those, i'm working on it.
13. having visitors over is the best thing ever.
you'd think granny and papa and kirk and whitney were super heroes with the way they treated them

14. lastly, this moment of parenthood is GOLDEN

 
15. even more golden is getting them out of their car seats half sleepy as they cling to your neck, they half awake say "i love you kimber" and then pass them into their beds, back to sleep.

really, being with these girls all day is cake.
they're so easy.
i'm really grateful that my situation at this time in my life has allowed me to come help their family out.
lil ruthie's suregery went really well.
but she now has pancreitis (or something that sounds like that).
her stomach doesn't feel good at all, she's not eating normal, and throwing up a lot.
logan has gone for the weekend to be with blair and ruthie in PA so I will be alone with the girls til Monday night.
they facetime a lot as a family and individuals which helps everyone emotionally i think.
(even i get to facetime with casey about 2 times a day and it emotionally charges me).

i'm so happy i have this experience of being here with these girls and family!
hopefully i will actually write about more of the funny moments each day!

examples:

annalee got a cookie because she ate all her dinner.
phoebe had barely touched her dinner but she insisted she get a cookie too and NOW!
i squatted down to her level trying to explain how she could get a cookie and why it was that way.
i counted off my fingers saying "you can have a carrot, a cucumber, more potatoes, or cottage cheese."
so i have 4 fingers up.
she looks at my hands for a long time debating.
in my mind, i'm thinking i've finally gotten her.
she reaches out to grab my 2nd finger and says "cookie!"
oh that wee devil.
she did eat 1 carrot

when annalee and phoebe realized logan was with blair at the hospital through facetime,
annalee shouted at "you're in nebraska!?!"
they apparently remember me talking about casey in nebraska a lot.

annalle kept calling yoga, gogurt.

and this last one isn't really a specific story,
but every morning phoebe questions me "you have a baby in your tummy?
a big baby? because you have a big tummy."
i always ask her what should i name my baby and she always responds "boy"

that's it for now!
i must now continue my mommyhood training by going to bed early so when those girls wake me up at the crack of dawn, i won't be exhausted!

ps- i'm officially 7 months pregnant! wahoo!

sales

probably one of my most favorite things ever is going into a store and there's a screaming deal going on.

example: today i went to old navy, the WHOLE STORE WAS 40% off.

my search for the perfect sweater went to my search for every possible thing that could be an awesome deal.

i can always return it right?

fyi- people of arizona, it was the mills mall old navy. sale ends today 9/5.

more on my fabulous time here in arizona pretending to be mom later!

cheeks and chins

while in indiana, i got to take a few cute pictures of baby brielle!

she's got some crazy cute cheeks and double chin action going on.

the funnest part was this girl was SO happy in the mornings right when she got up.

smiles were given everywhere.

why is it we get such satisfaction from making a baby smile?

here's a little peek of what i've been looking at...

 

my SIL put the rest on her blog.

i don't know what to call this post.

going to get something fixed/done on your car is like going to the dentist.

you go in for a "cleaning" thinking/hoping you're spending x,

but they ALWAYS seem to find something else that's wrong

that cost lots more money.

(it may not be like this for some people at the dentist, but for myself, it is...and lucky me married a dentist. at least we won't have to pay lots for all my cavaites anymore!!)

blahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

here's a memory from carefree days before we were married where the last thing i had to worry about was car repairs (or pregnancy acne...)

thanks wyoming for always being windy to make my hair look like a model.

 

this week we are painting dressers (yipee!)

making our house a house of order (or attempting to do so)

and packing for ARIZONA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!